Jerks Can Be Tender Too
by leviosa8
Summary: Friday evening finds two boys in a park and two in a bookstore. In the end, people come and people go, but it is better when they stay. Even if it is just a little bit longer. Akutsu/Kawamura, Arai/Kachiro. With Kabaji as guest and Inui stalking heavily
1. Takeoff

**Jerks Can Be Tender Too**  
**Part 1 of 2: Takeoff**  
**Author**: leviosa8  
**Fandom**: The Prince of Tennis  
**Pairing**: A x K (pairing 1: Akutsu x Kawamura)  
** Disclaimer**: All these characters are the property of Takeshi Konomi. This is a work of fan love for fun, not profit.  
**Summary**: Friday evening. A park. Two boys.

* * *

"...And that is why you shouldn't worry too much about it. I'm sure nobody will be able to take your place. It will be fine."

"Usu."

"We all have something that nobody else has, and we are useful in our own way."

"Usu."

"Besides, Atobe wouldn't have gone so far to thank you if he didn't really appreciate you, don't you think?"

"U... Usu."

"One year is nothing. You'll be supporting him again in no time. He will survive until then."

"..."

"He'll manage, Kaba-chan. He's not a kid."

"...Uh..."

The phone rang in Kabaji's front pocket, startling them both. Kabaji answered right away.

Loud and clear enough, an unmistakable voice screamed haughtily from the speaker:

"Where on Earth have you wandered off to, Kabaji?! Aaaaan?! I finished my personal training one hour ago and have been waiting for ages in the car!"

"Usu."

"Tell me your whereabouts so that I can check the coordinates by satellite and pick you up."

"Usu." Kabaji smiled, gave a couple of brief and exact directions, and hung up. Then he turned again to the boy sitting on the swing next to him. "When... Atobe-san is... alone... for too long... he gets... very anxious."

"I... see."

"But... please, don't... tell anyone," he blushed.

"I won't."

"Kawamura-san, thank you... for listening. And for... the sushi." Kabaji stood up and bowed.

"Ah... Anytime!" he nodded and then smiled. "You cheer up, boy!"

They waved goodbye.

Kawamura was now on his own, sitting on one of the two swings in the lonely park. The one on his right was empty, although it still swung slowly back and forth - the last bit of momentum left by Kabaji's departure. It was getting so dark that the streetlamps were on and the stars were out.

"People come and people go," he sighed. It didn't matter if there was no age difference in his case. Tennis was not part of his life anymore, but it still was for all his friends. All but...

"Done with group therapy, Kawamura?"

Akutsu.

He had not heard him approach. Kawamura startled and looked over his shoulder, half turning.

Akutsu was standing behind him in his black, sleeveless undershirt, a cigarette in his mouth, eyes boring into his.

Uneasy as he was, Kawamura would not let him play the intimidation game anymore. Instead, he offered a genuine smile, ignoring his heart's happy somersaults. He liked it when Akutsu came to him of his own will. It was so rare. And there was always a good reason behind it.

"How long have you been there?"

Akutsu looked sideways and shrugged.

"Followed you from _Kawamura Sushi_. I was hungry, but lost my appetite when I saw you walking out with Frankenstein. I still hoped you had come to the park to fight. What a disappointment."

Kawamura laughed, in all earnest.

"Then were you afraid we had come all the way here to make out?"

Akutsu glared, eyes huge and menacing. He spat out the cigarette, stepped on it twice, and then walked until he was standing right behind Kawamura's back, close enough to give off heat and that dangerous vibe that Kawamura associated intrinsically with Jin Akutsu.

Feeling tired, Kawamura turned his head back to the front and exhaled, slowly.

"OK. What's the matter? I hadn't seen you since the semi-finals. I told you I'd invite you to sushi to thank you for your support, but you never gave me a call. Why today? Why didn't you call me beforehand?"

Akutsu grabbed the chains of the swing, pulling hard until it shook.

"Why should I warn you before going? You're always there. I just thought I'd go when I pleased. It pleased me today. It's Friday night and I'm bored. What was he doing there? I thought you liked the girly type, but it seems you prefer muscles after all. What was the other boy's name? Momo-what?"

"Momoshiro? Momo and I trained together for a little while, that's all. And he likes them younger," he chuckled against his will. "Kaba-chan... Kabaji was just feeling low. His senpais are retiring from the club and will soon graduate, just like me. He feels anxious and lost. Kind of lonely, too."

"If he feels lonely he can look for a Frankenstein girlfriend to keep him company, right? Weren't you rivals once? Why did he come to you of all people?"

"He said he found a towel with the name of my restaurant near the river and came all the way just to give it back."

"Bullshit," Akutsu laughed. "You should have seen the two of you, sitting here like schoolgirls, talking of life and love."

"We weren't-"

"The way he talked of that Atobe, the way Atobe keeps him on a short leash, you wouldn't think he is merely that rich jerk's expensive pet, would you? He organized a whole fucking party just for him! I still don't know why I went. Or why I let my mother go... It took me the rest of the night to keep her off Sengoku's hands and prevent her from inviting him over to keep _me_ company..." He paused; took a deep, annoyed breath; and then continued. "Anyway, what would you know? You are as green as a kindergarten kid, Kawamura. You still believe in butterflies and lollipops and honesty and a life of work, work, work," he shook the swing by the chains with every word, "like the good goody-two-shoes you are."

Kawamura kept himself in place with his feet solid on the ground.

"I'm not that good," he replied gently, staring at them.

Akutsu snorted.

"You are good enough, and you kept your part of the deal with your team until the very end. Aren't you proud?"

Kawamura felt the mockery in his voice, but he couldn't forget Akutsu's presence in his last game. While it had certainly been encouraging to have his friends push him up to his feet again and again, it had not been them but Akutsu who had finally pushed him forward and convinced him not to give up.

"I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends. That includes you."

"I was only glad to be there to see you fly. That game was really exciting, like watching dirty boxing with special effects. I don't understand how you have recovered so fast from all those bruises."

"And I don't understand what's wrong with you today," Kawamura replied with a grin, looking up and backwards again, as much as his neck allowed. "You are talking a lot." The back of his head finally bumped into the other boy's stomach, and he kept it there unabashedly, even if his hands were shaking a bit, a few inches below Akutsu's on the chains.

Akutsu looked down with a frown. Kawamura held his gaze. Akutsu watched him intently, carefully; and at length he spoke.

"I'm hungry. Starving, actually. And I am tired of waiting."

"Do you want to come back with me and have some s-?"

Cigarette breath and a tongue on his lips silenced him. It was one long and thorough lick.

Kawamura went very still.

Until then, Akutsu had only reached out with a bland punch to his face or a soft drink on his head. This was a new and interesting approach...

How was he supposed to respond?

Well, Kawamura had always liked to try different things.

So he licked him too.

Akutsu responded by licking back again with a satisfied smile. Then kissed Kawamura fully in the mouth, holding his face with both hands.

"Not running away, hmmm?" Akutsu paused to breathe out at point-blank distance.

Kawamura smiled and opened his eyes, lazily. He was also trembling slightly, but rather out of excitement. This felt _GREAT_.

"And where would I go? Tell me."

"I told you already: follow the path you believe in, wherever it takes you," Akutsu smirked, before claiming his lips again, and grabbed Kawamura below the armpits to pull him down to the ground, where they kept kissing upside down.

Kawamura wanted to cough and to laugh and to just breathe, but was so caught up in the moment that he just managed to take Akutsu's head in his hands to keep him in place and show him how that was the way he wanted things right now. His heart was pounding like a time bomb, deafening and steady, as loud as the voice inside that screamed: _Shit, yes_.

Soon enough, there was no cigarette flavor left.

Akutsu stood up abruptly, cursed under his breath, and moved around until he was looking at him face to face for the first time that night. Kawamura's chest was heaving, his eyes were hazy and his mouth was red, swollen and very wet. He wiped it clean with his short sleeve and stared back at Akutsu, who was panting heavily while doing his hair with a comb he seemed to have been keeping somewhere in his back pocket.

Akutsu looked frantically from right to left, then went down on his knees and laid all his weight and length on Kawamura, pressing his hands to his shoulders and kissing him as if there were no tomorrow.

Without a warning, Akutsu slid his hand down to the front of Kawamura's pants and squeezed hard, which made Kawamura squirm, uneasy. But when Akutsu brought Kawamura's hand to the bulge in his own pants, Kawamura felt his confidence soar. He groaned loudly, unzipped Akutsu's jeans and started rubbing him over the fabric of his underpants.

As they synchronized their movements, Kawamura smiled into Akutsu's amused eyes.

Akutsu extended his free palm over Kawamura's chest, caressing slowly. Kawamura gasped, drifting away from reality in a bubble of pleasure, his vanishing thoughts connecting with a wet dream he once had about Fuji, back when they started speaking to each other more often and the other boy's gender confused his hormones.

He still remembered the way Fuji had suddenly opened his eyes in the dream; and how, when he woke up wet the next morning, for a moment he couldn't remember whether he had really come or just pissed himself in his pan--

_Wait a minute._

He was close and he didn't want to come in his pants! Besides, they were in a public place; someone could walk on them at any moment, or Akutsu could want to go further than what he was will... um... ready to go.

Kawamura turned his head to one side and wiggled out from below the warm body on top. Only half-way, though...

"I don't want to go there, not here..." He panted.

Akutsu propped himself on one elbow, and looked into space before saying:

"The woman won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Come and stay for the night..."

Kawamura immediately realized the implications of agreeing, so he took his time replying.

"I don't know if I can..." He didn't know if he _should_.

"You have the night off. I heard your father when you left." Akutsu glared, and then lowered his head so that he almost breathed into his ear as he whispered: "Don't give me bullshit, Kawamura. If you don't want to come, just say so."

The tiny hint of insecurity latent in Akutsu's words pushed away part of Kawamura's own doubts, replacing them with a warm and fuzzy feeling. But there was something that was still true:

"I promised to help my father tomorrow with the morning delivery."

_MISERY..._

"I'll kick you out before sunrise if you want." Akutsu snorted, and got up. "And no breakfast unless we do some shopping. And we'd better, as that woman has not only run out of milk, but of condoms, too."

That cleared his mind at once.

"Wha-?"

"If you feel insecure about it, I'll lend you my racket anytime" he laughed, kicking his foot softly. Kawamura kicked him back from the ground, raising himself on two elbows.

"Don't mock me..."

"I'd rather fuck you," he shrugged.

"A-"

"You can fuck me too, I don't mind."

"Akutsu..."

"Dammit, just sleep with me. What are you afraid of? It won't hurt you more than that stupid Kansai baldie, you know? Well, I'm warning you: you might be a masochist, but I'm no sadist. I can be gentle, too. I sometimes play it rough, that's all." He walked between his legs, forcing them open on the ground.

"I'm actually a sensitive person!" protested Kawamura, bending his knees to trap Akutsu's legs like a pincer.

"Hell, yeah, that's why you developed double personality." He bent down, knees clashing.

"I have no-"

"Right. Whatever. Bring both of you if you want. _COME ON!_" he mimicked him, extending a hand.

Kawamura let himself be pulled up from the ground, trying to remember how old he was the last time he'd been to Akutsu's, unable to leave a mild panic behind.

And yet, there was no way he was going back to his own place tonight. He couldn't explain to himself why he felt so willing to go to the lion's den. Perhaps, he thought, even if he didn't fully trust Akutsu yet, he had already gained enough confidence in himself.

He phoned his dad and, to his surprise, was released from his early morning duty. He would only need to show up in time for their Saturday family lunch. Akutsu raised his eyebrows when he heard, unbelieving.

"Green light" Kawamura smiled, returning the cell phone to his jeans' pocket. "Let's go."

Akutsu turned his face to light a new cigarette and started walking out of the park, leading the way. Kawamura followed him in silence, watching from behind.

He had been thinking about it for a while, particularly after the events of that last game, that maybe Akutsu was more interested in him that he gave him credit for. Or perhaps he only came to him whenever he was bored out of his wits. Whatever it was, he didn't want to raise his hopes just yet. It was hard when they were disappointed, and he had known disappointment before.

As much as Kawamura liked Fuji, his favorite doubles partner, he had soon realized that Fuji didn't need him. He knew because he had watched his friend for a long time. He had seen Fuji watch Tezuka, which was not very differently from the way Inui and Echizen and even Momo watched Tezuka. But Inui seemed to prefer to spend his time with Kaidoh; Momo and Echizen had always preferred to be in each other's company -at least until their wonderboy left again for the States; and Fuji pretended he preferred one-man sports and the one-man way, but he still missed his brother, was cheerfully jealous of the Tachibana siblings, and apparently spent many a night online, chatting with Rokkaku's Saeki or with Inui over things Kawamura didn't really want to know but nevertheless was forced to hear sometimes.

After all, Saeki had an extremely sharp eye, and a whole other school team to gossip about.

And Inui watched everybody.

One day, right before the Nationals, that Fuji and Inui had gathered at Kawamura's room for a game of Monopoly "he used every opportunity to get his friends to play with him), Inui commented offhandedly the way Tezuka watched Oishi whenever he was with Kikumaru. Fuji added that Eiji had noticed "he had a sharp eye too), but that Oishi was oblivious to it. Inui replied that when it came to Tezuka, Oishi was color-blind. Fuji said then that Oishi believed he knew Tezuka better than anybody, but he simply worried about the wrong things, all the time. "That's just like him, Seigaku's mother" concluded Inui. They both sounded a bit jealous of their vice-captain, but Kawamura said nothing. He built a house in a cheap area he owned, and passed the dice around.

Even if he had sometimes really felt like Seigaku's _luggage_ beside them, Kawamura liked his team... well, his former team mates very much, all of them, but particularly the younger ones. Momo and Kaidoh were like his equals already, and also the future of the team. And Echizen was someone he looked up to, in a way.

But among the hatching lot he had a special affection for Kachiro. Sometimes he wished Kachiro had come to the school one year earlier, so that they could maybe have had the chance to play doubles together. He was sure they would have made a good combination, with a little more practice. Now it was up to someone like Arai to try. He had watched them a couple of times and there seemed to be an interesting chemistry between them.

He smiled to himself and kept following Akutsu at a close distance. Kawamura hadn't forgotten the way he attacked them that day he came to their school looking for a challenge that he would later lose. But Akutsu had changed for the better after his defeat against Echizen. He even went as far as helping the boy overcome a humiliating defeat in return, and Kawamura had long forgiven him.

Maybe it was right for him to watch _this person_, he thought. Akutsu had no _luggage_ of his own to consider him an extra. He was like some sort of heavy, dangerous luggage himself. But he felt he could handle it. At least, he wanted to try.

Suddenly the other boy stopped, threw away the cigarette butt and turned back to him.

"Why are you walking behind me? You're not my fucking wife...!" and Kawamura could hear the "yet" floating in the air. He matched his pace, feeling lighter and bolder by the minute.

"Where are you taking me? Your place is that way," he pointed out as they passed the street they should have turned to.

"Lawson. I need to buy some stuff first, remember?"

"Ah. Right..."

"I might also get something to eat now. _Karaage_, or whatever. Couldn't care less, as long as it fills me up. You've eaten already, right?"

Kawamura nodded in silence, pondering whether he should pay for half of the box, and what the common practice was. He was still a bit green, after all. He could always phone Inui and ask, but that would lead to a series of personal questions that he did not want to answer.

********

At some point when they entered the convenience store, Kawamura thought he had seen someone familiar moving quickly behind a shelf, but he had regarded it as some late-hour mirage, and kept walking towards the magazine rack. He busied himself reading some magazines while Akutsu went about the shelves and the drink coolers, picking things here and there.

Kawamura wished there had been a condom machine outside so that they could have purchased them anonymously. Now Akutsu would have to show them to the cashier and they would get dirty looks on the way out.

A few minutes later, a bag bumped into his back, bringing him out of his fretting （disguised as reading) and Akutsu motioned towards the door with his head.

"What did you buy?" he asked distractedly when they were outside again, looking back to make sure there was nobody there. Perhaps it had been another _mirage_, but he'd have sworn he'd seen someone watching stealthily through the glass inside the store. Whoever it had been disappeared quickly around the corner.

"_Karaage-kun_. Spicy barbecue. Want some?" he offered. Kawamura shook his head, still looking behind.

"But what's there in the bag?"

"Milk for the kid -that's you- and condoms."

Kawamura turned his whole attention to him for a second.

"So... they sold them to you?"

Akutsu laughed.

"Well, the asshole at the counter didn't want to. I was this close to breaking his face," he described manually, his eyes bulging mad. "Never mind, I'm just not in the mood to pick a fight tonight, if that makes you feel easier. Good thing he came to his senses and stopped trying to boss me around."

"Good thing indeed..."

"Now, will you stop looking behind us? Or do you also suffer from another type of paranoia you never told me about?"

"I'd swear I just saw someone from the team, but I couldn't see them well, so I am not sure..."

"That reminds me that I _did_ see some of your loser team mates at BOOK-OFF when I passed by on the way to the park."

"At BOOK-OFF? Who?"

"I don't know their names or care. They were at the counter, paying for something. That pansy-haired, bad-mouthed, useless pile of shit that I taught a lesson last spring..."

"Arai?"

"...And the mushroom-headed shrimp that accompanied him."

"Kachiro?"

"The four-eyed, psycho nerd was there too."

"Inui?"

"Whatever they were doing there, they looked quite embarrassed. All but the nerd. He gives me the creeps, that one."

Kawamura couldn't imagine Akutsu getting creeped out by Inui, nor could he imagine a reason for such a colorful trio. But he would have sworn that he had seen Inui just a moment ago. And perhaps even... OK, maybe the presence of Akutsu was enough to force people into hiding. And if Inui was really out there, more data to him. He just lamented he hadn't shown himself, so he could have asked him about condom-paying manners directly, pretending it was only out of _healthy curiosity_. He was convinced Inui knew about that because last year he used to follow their senpais as well, under the pretext that sophomores needed to learn from them.

Only Tezuka once had the courage and the heart -or lack thereof, given Inui's efforts- to tell him that over 90% of his notes were pretty useless data.

********

They had showered together right after arriving home. Akutsu had insisted by pushing him into the bathroom and ordering him to throw away his prudish manners, wasn't he the _sportsman_? Wasn't he used to bathing with his friends? _Ain't this the best?_ So they had soaped their bodies together, then mutually; somehow jerked each other off in the process; and finally cleaned up again.

Kawamura knew it had been his fault: seeing Akutsu's hair down after so long had been too tempting for him not to touch it, to offer to wash it for him, even in spite of the mocking response. And then to kiss him while Akutsu's eyes were closed and soapy. By that time Akutsu no longer had patience for quiet groping, and the water affair had ended pretty quickly. No bath, either. Just a snack and bed.

And in bed they were.

Kawamura was lying naked on Akutsu's bed, paralyzed by shock, wanting to move and do something, but afraid to break the moment.

Akutsu was lying naked on top of Kawamura, rubbing his face on Kawamura's chest, catlike, but with no purring - just a bit of husky, satisfied moaning and a good amount of tenderness, which was absolutely _SHOCKING_.

Kawamura finally relaxed, closing his eyes, and smiled to himself. Akutsu noticed and started caressing Kawamura's bare pectorals with his palms, apparently studying his every muscle. When he had been at it for longer than five minutes straight, Kawamura decided that either Akutsu was seriously interested in medicine, or he must have some sort of muscle fetish. And given his previous comments on Kawamura's friends, the latter made a lot of sense.

Akutsu had always respected him for his strength, but he would have never imagined it also turned him on. Perhaps it was the equivalent of how he felt about Akutsu's threatening aura, which was both a familiar danger and a constant challenge. It had certainly been a challenge to prevent him from applying wax to his hair after the shower, but Akutsu had given up the fight in exchange for Kawamura walking speedily to his bedroom.

Kawamura put his hands in Akutsu's hair again, still damp and cool on his skin, but soft to the touch. After all these years, he still looked like Satan's spawn, with an older, more wearied look, but less mushroomy than he remembered. Certainly not like their Kachiro, or Hyoutei's Hiyoshi. He liked Akutsu's hair, and he liked Akutsu's eyes.

It occurred to him that Akutsu was like one of those beasts in that kids' movie with wizards he had once partially watched on TV while exercising in his room. You had to bow first and then approach him slowly, never losing eye contact, showing him respect but not fear, and wait for his approval before you ever tried to get close to him, lest he rip you apart in one swift move. Kawamura wondered, amused, whether, with enough care, Akutsu would even let him ride--

"Do me," Akutsu said suddenly, raising his head just enough to look him in the eyes. The light in the room was dim but his intentions were clear.

"Do... WHAT!?" he exhaled with difficulty.

Akutsu lifted himself momentarily to reach for Kawamura's lips and whispered:

"I can't expect you to be ready for me, now. Or are you? But you can at least try it on me first. Isn't that fair enough?"

"I-I don't think I can..."

"Bullshit. You can. I'll lead. You just stay where you are if you want, but let me..." he paused, seated himself more comfortably on Kawamura's waist, and shifted lower, to just where it would cause the necessary effect. Kawamura covered his mouth with both hands, stifling a non-Japanese verbal scream. Akutsu moved once, twice, steadily, and breathed again: "Don't... back... out... just.... NOW!"

Panting, his heart galloping, Kawamura reached for Akutsu's face with one hand. Akutsu slapped it away and laughed out loud.

"I'm not a girl, boy. But I'll ride you good. I know you like this, it's _useless_ to deny it, it's _useless_ to resist. So are we in sync or do you actually still think what you feel is just an urgent need to pee, you muscled baby?"

Kawamura wanted to reply that Akutsu was already riding him well enough, but his eyes closed on their own accord and his mouth gasped out a weak "Yes".

Akutsu kissed him hard and Kawamura's fingers buried in his loose hair once again. Akutsu started fondling him and Kawamura's hands went down to Akutsu's bare buttocks, caressing in similar patterns while Akutsu did some... things to himself with his free hand, unwrapped the condom and then, unbelievably carefully, put it on Kawamura's most sensitive piece of skin.

Kawamura couldn't help marvelling at how Akutsu could be so motivated to multitask like that, so efficiently and without a single complaint, and, most importantly, without resorting to violence of any sort... yet.

Then Akutsu guided Kawamura inside his own body and, after a few overwhelming minutes of both alien and enhanced sensations, Kawamura's mind ended up going totally and blissfully blank.

********

Kawamura sighed and flipped the scrambled eggs in the pan.

Boy, what a night.

He eyed the sausages sheepishly, trying hard not to remember this morning either, and the way Akutsu's tongue had so sensually slid up and down his cock, while Akutsu's eyes observed his every reaction, until his mouth had engulfed him completely and Kawamura would have sworn something was about to explode somewhere inside him, above and below. Whether it finally did in his brain, his heart or his groin, or all at once, he could not yet tell. But... ACK! One of the sausages actually exploded. He had to save the rest!

There. Out of the frying pan. Now he only had to mind the eggs and try not... to be... distracted...

But as he stirred them around again, he remembered Akutsu's face on his belly, licking and petting and mumbling, or was it just moaning? Who cares! It had felt so good that he still trembled from the memory. From beginning to end it had all been so _EXCITING_.

Akutsu hadn't let him sleep at all. He hadn't given him a break, as if he had expected to make up for lost time in just one night. He had been restless and cuddly, and had sought Kawamura's attention - constantly. Even as Kawamura was on the verge of dozing off close to dawn, Akutsu had made his final, ultimate move: he had gone for his ass.

Kawamura had suspected it had to happen, that Akutsu wouldn't let it remain uneven for too long. But he didn't expect the smooth approach, the patience, and the... skill. Well, there was a lot to say about skill that he could not explain himself, as he really didn't know, but something that makes you feel good without hurting too much, that _must_ definitely be the product of skill, he thought. Truth be told, he himself was strong enough and fairly resistant to pain. But there had been care too. Akutsu, the _fantastic_ beast, could care enough to be gentle enough.

And then, Kawamura grinned, he was... Akutsu, and of course he could also go wild and silly, and push harder and harder, laughing and staring with feral eyes. Kiss deeply. And pull him up in a weird position to keep going at it as he whispered face to face how "I wish I were far more flexible so I could suck you while I fuck you".

Kawamura chuckled at the memory and almost spilled the miso soup he was now pouring into the bowls.

"What's so funny?" Akutsu asked from the kitchen table. He pretended to be reading the newspaper, but Kawamura knew he had a comic book inside. _Rookies_, or something. And that Akutsu's eyes were every so often straying to Kawamura's bare torso and back, dressed as he was in only his jeans and Yuki-chan's kitchen apron. He also knew that saying "You" would be like signing his death warrant, so he just shook his head and kept arranging the food. A peaceful, home-made and filling breakfast was all Kawamura wanted to try him with right now.

But he just couldn't help himself when he approached the table with an overloaded tray, and observed that:

"That newspaper is last week's."

"Who the hell cares?" came the smoking reply.

"Here," Kawamura said, placing the plate with the eggs and sausages first, then the _tsukemono_, the small salad, the soup, the rice and a cup of tea...

"No tea, skip to the coffee. It smells good."

"Just a second..." he obliged. Akutsu put his cigarette out and his reading aside. Then took a chance that Kawamura had finished setting the table and had his hands safely empty, grabbed him by the waist and made him sit on his lap.

"Feed me, Takashi," he ordered with an unreadable expression but mischievous eyes, both hands on Kawamura's hips, massaging his sides.

"Aren't we too old to play house?"

"Beats me," Akutsu shrugged. "I've never played house."

"I know."

And he also knew how that explained many things.

Kawamura sighed towards the ceiling, holding his laughter more out of respect than anything, and then turned slightly to pick up the fork and the big plate. They'd have to share, because he was hungry as hell, so much as to bargain with the devil himself. He stabbed an exploded sausage and offered it to Akutsu, who immediately opened his mouth for him.

Kawamura thought of kissing him, but he wanted some eggs first, so he helped himself to them. Akutsu shook him, asking for more food, and Kawamura put another sausage in his mouth. He thought of biting the other end before it got all swallowed up, but finally decided that he wanted to play this right.

He was hungry, too! If he started something, he suspected breakfast would be soon forgotten. After all the effort he had put on preparing it, raiding all the cupboards and the fridge until he found all the necessary ingredients, he wanted Akutsu to enjoy the meal. And that thought startled him.

As he finished feeding Akutsu some eggs, and was told "No, no salad yet. I want some soup", he reflected on his future as a sushi chef, how badly he wanted to become good enough to satisfy all the customers with their different tastes; but also _how wonderful it would be to cook for one, just one_. Like now.

Akutsu finished sipping the soup Kawamura was holding for him as his hands were occupied with Kawamura's denim-clad buttocks, and said:

"You're a good wife, you know that?"

"I... _I rabu you, you pay my rent-o_," he blurted out, remembering some English song the teacher had played in class last term.

"What!?"

Kawamura proceeded to the rice, bowl in hand, one pair of chopsticks for two, and a face that was burning, definitively _BURNING_. But he didn't say it aloud because Akutsu had threatened with kicking him out of the window if he used any of his _Engrish_ with him. He'd had a hard time last night, what with getting so excited and out of his mind during sex. Now he was worrying whether or not song lyrics were included in that. He tried to change the topic, only he couldn't.

"Are you going to be the one to bring the money home, then?"

"So long as you don't ask me where I got it," Akutsu sneered, accepting some white grains.

"I'd like you to get a decent job, you know. For the good of the kids."

"Screw the kids. The kids will love me anyway. I know how to handle them."

"Taichi-kun doesn't count."

"Then what does?"

"I don't want any domestic violence, that's all." Kawamura put more rice into Akutsu's mouth to prevent a quick response. "I've had enough stress with my mother. You know how scary she is."

Akutsu gulped it down and said:

"Then I guess I'll have to do the housework myself, because I don't trust you holding a broom."

Kawamura laughed.

"I hold a sushi knife everyday and I don't go crazy, Jin." He smiled, finishing the rice himself and putting the bowl behind him.

"Say that again," he heard Akutsu's hoarse voice and stopped, turning slowly.

"Crazy?"

Akutsu shook him in frustration, and the movement got their groins so close that there was no point in pretending it had all been breakfast and games.

"...Don't go crazy, _Jin_," he whispered in his ear, then put both arms around Akutsu's shoulders, and licked some rice grain and soup bits from the corner of his mouth, before feeding him his own tongue at last.

Akutsu went beyond crazy. He devoured Kawamura's tongue, continued with his mouth, then moved on to his whole face, his ears and his neck, before taking both the apron and his own shirt off, to squeeze their bodies together until neither of them could breathe anymore.

But it was Kawamura, to his own surprise, who started rocking his hips, hard and fast, with only a fleeting thought of the chair that was supporting them both.

It didn't matter anyway, because it held out longer than they did.

This time he had not thought about his clothes, though. Panting, he looked at the mess between his legs, greeting him as it slowly spread into a noticeable stain.

Akutsu was only in his boxers, so he couldn't care less. But those jeans and the T-shirt were the only pieces of clothing Kawamura had brought with him and...

"Shower. Now." Akutsu lifted him up, his upper arms clamped around Kawamura's thighs, and managed to carry him all the way to the bathroom, burping loudly a couple of times in the process. "It was a good meal, thanks."

"Anytime," he replied, holding fast to his shoulders. "But my jeans... how can I go home like this?"

"Driers were invented for a reason, you idiot."

"...Oh."

"Mind the head."

Kawamura banged it against the doorframe on the way in anyway.

********

He had to be out and on his way home an hour or so ago, and he regretted it. He had promised to be home for lunch, as his mother had reminded him with a text message, telling him also to buy some groceries on the way. When family duty called, he had to respond. He had responded to Akutsu's every demand until now, too, but Kawamura would have never imagined the black sheep of Yamabuki to be so clingy.

Of course, Akutsu would never openly acknowledge his clinginess.

"_What about second breakfast?_"*

Kawamura snorted and finished buttoning his jeans.

"_What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? H-_"

Akutsu switched the TV off with a grunt. They had been cuddling, carefree, in the sofa, watching some epic fantasy DVD ("That woman's, not mine," Akutsu had assured him disdainfully) while the guilty pants, jeans and sheets dried. It hadn't escaped his attention how Akutsu had chosen the longest drying program and the longest DVD available but now it was really time to go.

He walked to the door and put on his sneakers without untying the laces. Akutsu watched him in silence, an unlit cigarette in his mouth and what looked like a scowl on his face.

"What about tomorrow?" Kawamura offered first, a hand on the doorknob. Tomorrow was Sunday and Kawamura knew that there wouldn't be much time during the week afterwards. "I'm off after lunch and have a couple of hours until dinner. We could finish watching the movie."

They needed plenty of time for that, given how it was the _Extended Edition_. Not that he expected to see much of it, though. Well, depending on Yuki-chan's plans...

"Good, because that woman told me she was going shopping with some co-workers. I'll be probably here all day watching the races, so just drop in and out when you want."

Kawamura smiled.

"You could come with me afterwards and I'll give you the sushi dinner I promised."

"Will your father be there?" he sneered.

For a moment, Kawamura didn't know how to take that so he went for safe territory:

"...Just leave the sushi to me, keep your hands to yourself in front of my dad, and we'll all have a nice time. We could even play some Monopoly afterwards."

"That stupid, foreign edition that has 'Shûsuke' written on the box?" Akutsu frowned.

"That's the one," he smiled over his shoulder, and turned to open the door.

A hand prevented it from opening and a second later he felt Akutsu's body covering his from behind.

"Jin, I have to g-"

Akutsu bit his neck and forced him to turn his head for a kiss.

"I won't beg, _Bakashi_, you asshole," he snarled. Then he kissed him again.

Kawamura turned fully around and embraced him tightly, feeling that, _what the hell_, he could be clingy too. This felt so good.

He waited for Akutsu to step back first

"Go now or your father won't let you out tomorrow."

Kawamura opened the door into the Saturday morning sunlight and left with a wave of his hand.

********

Kawamura found himself walking quickly without even meaning to. His heart felt as warm as his over-dried jeans and as light as his head.

As he walked by the park on the way to the supermarket, he glanced briefly towards the swings where everything had started last evening. Two familiar figures were sitting on the swings, engaged in conversation, their heads bent down, close together. Right, they must have finished practice already. It was past midday after all. The younger of the two spotted him in the distance and immediately waved. The other was totally caught by surprise so it took him two seconds to stand up and bow stiffly but politely. Kawamura smiled and waved back without stopping. So maybe he had seen them yesterday at Lawson after all...

_What a WONDERFUL weekend_, he thought. Momo and Eiji were coming on Sunday morning to play videogames in his room but he was already looking forward to the afternoon.

_People come and people go_, he thought again, _but it is GREAT when they stay_.

Walking down the street now, he looked up at the blue skies and sang to himself in a low voice:

"_It's a beautiful day, beautiful day, it was then... and it is now... and it's shining bright..._"**

And it was, too.

* * *

**Don't miss the other side of the evening in**** part 2: BOOK-OFF**

*From the movie LotR, _The Fellowship of the Ring_.  
** From Kawamura's album, track 12, _Ano basho made_ (Until that place).


	2. Bookoff

**Jerks Can Be Tender Too**  
**Part 2 of 2: BOOK-OFF**  
**Author**: leviosa8  
**Fandom**: The Prince of Tennis  
**Pairing**: A x K (pairing 2: Arai x Kachiro)  
** Disclaimer**: All these characters are property of Takeshi Konomi. This is a work of fan love for fun, not profit.  
** Summary**: Friday evening. A store. Two boys.

* * *

The sky was getting dark and so was his soul. Arai looked up to the unmerciful heavens and found the first star of the evening. He wished for this Friday to end as safely as possible and for him to return home tonight and to school tomorrow with his reputation intact. However, it was not going to be that easy.

At least, he thought, at least he was not alone in this. However, that was actually not part of the solution but rather part of the problem. He looked at the boy sitting next to him, then at the book in his hands, and sighed deeply.

Kachiro Kato had been there this morning at practice with the other first year whose shaved head would look better in the baseball club (and he would probably do better there too). They had always looked comical to him, the mushroom and the asparagus, until the mushroom stood up to him on the court and made him respect his name, while the asparagus remained that annoying presence always beside him like a mismatched twin.

Of course, Horio was always the most insufferable presence on the face of the Earth or, at least, Seigaku's grounds. But that day he had showed up with a strange story about something he'd heard from a conversation between some girls in his class, all too anxious to share his outrage with his habitual companions. Arai had been about to pick something from the clubhouse, something that was forgotten as soon as he approached the door, ajar, and accidentally caught bits of Horio's rant:

"...Boy on boy, totally explicit, and you can even choose the age you want them to be, you know? They have all sorts. And it is there for everybody to pick and see. Can you believe it? So imagine you are looking for old issues of your favourite comic and you accidentally pick _that_. AURGH. Yuck!"

"I don't think they are with the normal comics, Horio-kun," the asparagus had said. "I went there once and the adult comics have shelves of their own. People our age are not supposed to take them and they are called _hentai_ for a reason."

"This is not _hentai_, you idiot! This is for _girls_!"

"The books must be mixed, Horio-kun, because I've seen both boys and girls looking at the same shelves!" Kachiro had chipped in.

"But... But there is no way a guy would want to even get close to _those_! There are stories about teachers and students, and locker-room stories and... and people with strange family complexes! Or so the girls were saying. Apparently it is hotter when the two boys have different ages or are somehow related. I think it is all very gross and abnormal, if you ask me. But those girls were talking about returning to BOOK-OFF again to read more because there is so much stuff that..."

"Arai, what the hell are you doing?" Hayashi had yelled impatiently from the courts. He hadn't been able to listen anymore. He had returned to practice, yes, but in his mind he kept hearing the echoes of how _apparently it is hotter when the two boys have different ages_ and how the BOOK-OFF seemed to have all the answers to quite a few questions he'd been asking himself for some time, to his massive distress, perplexity and shame.

This was not about the usual porn normal boys talked about so he had to do this on his own. And he had wanted to move fast.

Now Arai was sitting in front of said store, together with a person who, against all odds, but also along the finest and most subtle lines of karma, seemed to share his curiosity in a timely fashion. And who was still so engrossed in his reading that he seemed to have forgotten that Arai was there too.

This situation was freaking the hell out of him.

Arai could still remember the boy's face of utter shock, probably a mirror of his own, after their hands had accidentally collided on the same book several minutes ago. Or was it years already? Never mind. He kept replaying the scenes in his head as if they had been a dream, one of those you desperately want to wake up from, but can't.

###

Back in the store, his eyes had been too occupied browsing the shelves while throwing stealthy looks left and right to check that nobody was coming, so the kid totally escaped his field of vision. It took his brain five full seconds to acknowledge him.

"Ooops. My bad!" Arai laughed a very fake laugh. He pulled his hand away from the book and the other boy's, as if burned. "I was looking for... this." And he pulled out another gay manga.

He began to sweat.

"No, I mean I wanted this. THIS." This time he managed to grab an incest _lolicon hentai_ anthology. Kachiro's eyes were bulging out and his jaw was at risk of dislocating. Shaking a little, Arai flipped through the very dirty pages with his own shocked eyes, and yet he didn't fail to notice the two books the kid was holding below his armpit. He wanted to take a better look at the covers, but he had yet to cover for himself, so he decided to change his strategy again. "Mmmm, not my type. Here! _Huge breasts_! Aaah, _big is good_, but huge is so much better!" He opened the new book and hid his face with it.

He couldn't read, though, because he was hyper aware of the other boy's every movement, or rather, his unnatural paralysis, and he couldn't move, either, because he was feeling so embarrassed he feared to spontaneously combust any moment.

When, after a few seconds, Arai heard some rustle at last, he peered from behind the book and saw Kachiro hastily trying to hide his own books in a shelf at random. Arai tried to do the same with the one that he had been hiding behind his back with his free hand, the book that had taken him half an hour to find and like. But doing so without looking proved to be the silliest thing he had done so far when the book fell to the floor and slid to Kachiro's feet.

Kachiro, who was crouching at the lowest shelf to try and push a way in half an empty space for the remaining volume, and failing, couldn't help seeing the cover and went very red on the face. Arai's, on the other hand, turned white.

Before either of them could muster the courage to pick it up, though, a faster hand took care of it.

"_Older Brothers Have Fun! Vol. 2_," read a deep, deadpan voice they both knew all too well.

"Inui-senpai!!", they exclaimed in sync, thus breaking the panicked standoff and entering a new realm of embarrassment of which there would be, definitely, written record.

Inui had taken both that book and the one Kachiro had failed to hide in time, no matter his last and desperate efforts: _Cute Boys Festival Vol.1_, and even offered to pay for them as a _senpai treat_. They were just 105 yens each; after all, it was not as if they would ruin him. But his knowledge about this encounter could very well ruin them. It would certainly ruin Arai for life, and for a second he wished April would come fast enough so that Inui would disappear from school and never tell of what could not possibly be labelled as an unfortunate mistake to any observing person, much less to a data man. Inui had even taken the time to return the _Huge breasts_ anthology to the shelf with a knowing, most unnerving smirk to Arai.

Arai felt that Inui was processing a good deal of information about them at the moment but was refraining from questioning. He probably didn't need to. This was not, after all, about their sporadic doubles combination, which Inui had been so eagerly encouraging from his own experience and data. This was about catching them red-handed at a spontaneous and accidental meeting in the wrong place doing the wrong thing. Together.

Arai now wasn't very sure of what he had been doing in the first place, and Kachiro was currently in some sort of walking coma, so Arai tried to convince Inui that they didn't want those books, that it was all a joke, that he could not possibly _buy_ them, given how he was underage himself. He had reasoned so eloquently in his head, that had his tongue not been tied and had his mind been clear from the cloud of surrealism, he would have told Inui just so.

Instead, it was Inui who explained to him the necessity of being out of the school uniform before visiting certain places, if he wanted to disguise the fact that he was still in junior high. Arai thought that Inui had a point and a good strategy, too.

But he also realized that Inui could use his height and voice to his advantage as well, as the cashier didn't doubt his age for a second. On the contrary, the bitch even had the gall to ask if those were for his younger... brothers. What!? Oh, wait, that was for the other books he already had in the yellow basket before meeting them. Which were... A journal on _Kitchen vegetables and how to mix them_, some random issue about _Introducing mushrooms_. OK, that was very Inui-like. But then there was... A bikini-clad idol magazine, _collector's special edition_? And an illustrated encyclopaedia on reptiles, _Elementary School level_!?

Now, _who_ was Inui getting those for!?

When Inui replied that no, all of them were for their father, "A young man with a solemn expression that sometimes visits this store pretending to look for books on mountains, you might have seen him last Wednesday, around 7 p.m., dressed in a light-violet shirt," Arai gasped loudly and the cashier turned her lazy, bespectacled eyes to him. Appalled on behalf of their captain, he averted his gaze to the street outside, wanting out and far, far away from there.

But he couldn't go very far at all, as he ended up locking eyes this time with no other than Yamabuki's Akutsu, who had been walking determinedly towards the door and stopped dead on his heels when he saw them. Fucking great! If that jerk was to come into the store, or worse, wait for them outside, his reputation wouldn't be the only thing crushed that evening. Although at that moment Arai was wishing for death to claim him fast so badly, that it didn't sound such a bad idea to have Akutsu do the job for him. But, truth be told, he liked life and he liked his face even better – and intact.

Next to him, Kachiro had spotted the grey-haired beast outside and was trembling like a leaf, but before he could voice his panic, Akutsu had turned around and walked away.

"Jin Akutsu, Yamabuki 3rd year. Quit tennis after being defeated by our Echizen. Lives with his young and beautiful mother and is an old friend of Kawamura. I wonder why he left. I only waved to him..."

Arai and Kachiro both turned to Inui (who was now quickly scribbling down something on a notebook, ignoring the shopping bag the cashier was trying to hand him), and then to each other in joyful understanding. Arai was sure he would have done the same if he'd had the warning. And damned be the _books_ and the _offs_.

Out in the parking lot, Inui had told them to "Read them in private and use them well. I have, um, things to do now, so I'll excuse myself here", before leaving. Arai wanted to convince himself that their senpai had truly left but something inside him felt uneasy about the conspicuous way Inui had looked at them before disappearing around the corner.

They had sat nearby on a hidden grass patch behind a lamppost behind some bushes, behind a cleaning-shop delivery truck that wouldn't be moving until early in the morning, most likely - or so Arai had hoped. There was enough light to see what they were doing so Arai opened the brown paper bag and silently gave Kachiro his book, placing his own book on his lap.

The cover alone was outrageous, he knew. But a quick glance at Kachiro's confirmed once again that his was safer, if only a bit. The boys in Kachiro's cover _looked_ like Kachiro.

###

After these good five minutes of reflection and reminiscence, all that his patience had allowed, he could not take the silence any longer. He needed to know what the boy was thinking. What he was thinking of _him_. That was most important. Top priority. Red-alert matter. He desperately wanted for this visit to BOOK-OFF to remain secret. If Kachiro had the good sense to keep it from Horio at least, there would be hope.

For the time being, he might as well take a look at the book. He flipped through the pages: an all-boys school setting, senpai-kohai relationships. Just what he was looking for, he secretly congratulated himself, kicking the shame aside for a minute. Then he glanced sideways at Kachiro for good measure: still engrossed in his reading, good boy. Then back to the book. Hmmm. Interesting. Hmmm. Gross. Hmmm. This couldn't be for girls - it was too... too... Why was he reading _this_, again? He couldn't focus anyway, not with the other boy there. It was his fault, _all of it_. And it was getting hot, wasn't it? It wasn't as humid as a few weeks ago but summer was not over yet and he felt he was in dire need of a shower. Maybe he could take the book home and... ummm... use it? After getting rid of the graphic jacket and replacing it with the English book's. Was it the same size? He could try.

_No!!_ –he repented almost instantly. He must not take that book home, no matter what. He just shouldn't. It was very dangerous. It was shameful enough as it was, with him having those weird thoughts. There was no need to acknowledge it further to himself and, if he ever let his guard down, his family. He had to give it away. He had to...

"I didn't want this anyway," he sighed theatrically, putting it inside his schoolbag. "Now I'll have to get rid of it, somewhere."

"If you don't want it... Would you mind if I... if I kept it?" Kachiro asked him shyly, barely daring to look at him.

"But you already have yours! Em... I mean, you didn't really want this either, now, did you? I thought you too were looking for cute girls going at it..." Head shaking. "Tentacle porn?" More shaking. "Pokèmon hentai?" Outraged expression. "Are you kidding me, _kid_?" he laughed, nervously. His insides were turning to jelly with every headshake, as his mind produced a languid moan he did not dare to translate.

Kachiro lowered his face even more.

"I'm sorry. I... I know it must be disgusting for you but I just... I was really curious..." he explained clumsily, obviously forgetting the fact that Arai had been there too, doing the same thing. But Arai was quite satisfied with this outcome so he didn't try to contradict him.

"What's yours about anyway?" he asked instead, taking it from Kachiro's hands.

He flipped through the pages quickly. Those men there were older, much older than the boys they petted.

"So, I see, Kato. You like older men don't you? Who is it you fell in love with, huh? Some old man from school? Which teacher? Or do you have a very friendly and harassing neighbour?" He smirked, still flipping through the pages with morbid curiosity. Hah! He liked his own book much better.

Kachiro made an attempt to retrieve it, but Arai had a firm hold of it. He lay down on the grass and continued checking the stories. Boy, those were creepy. Disgusting.

"Gross, gross, gross."

Kachiro emitted a muffled sound and dived again to get it. He failed, but was getting closer to the goal. Arai laughed while keeping him at bay with a hand on his small, flat chest.

"I'll give you mine later. This stuff is not for me. I wanted a good dose of girls' tits and ass."

"Then why... do you... keep reading...?" Kachiro fumed. Arai looked at him, and saw that his face was flaming red. His eyes averted Arai's and focused again on the book.

"Because I am curious as to what my kohai read. So, tell me, do I know the teacher?"

"I don't like any teacher! I didn't want this book! I told you! I wanted... yours."

Reading quickly the last story about a little boy and his father's co-worker, Arai threw it to the side on the grass dismissively, proclaiming, "This is crap", and let go of Kachiro's chest. The boy fell limply on his side and quickly extended an arm to retrieve the book. It was at the other side of Arai's head, and somewhere in the back of his mind, Arai knew he had done it on purpose. This was too much fun and he could rest assured that his reputation was totally safe now.

Until it was Kachiro who rested his whole weight on top of him across his lap and all the air escaped from his lungs. He tried to grab for the book in a last, desperate move, but Kachiro had been faster, so he grabbed the boy's wrist instead. There was some scuffle and somehow Kachiro managed to place himself right on the hard spot between Arai's thighs, and only then did he give it a rest. And a sweet moan.

No, _wait_, that had been _himself_.

"Aaan... Arai-sen... pai..." the boy too moaned in a whisper, collapsing on top of his chest, but without easing the pressure on Arai's groin with his own.

Arai would have liked to reply, scold and probably tell him off, but he was busy stifling one hundred moans concentrated in a big howl. He blamed it on porn, on the unlikely situation, and on the kid's hormones. It was not his fault, OK? _Now, just don't move, kid_.

Too late. Kachiro was already rubbing himself against him with increasing franticness and Arai found his hips responding in earnest.

_This is wrong, we are in public, this is going too fast_, a distant echo from his conscience warned him. Arai ignored it. The boy seemed to know what he was doing, so he was not really a kid. And what's one year of difference anyway? Nothing. Just a few months earlier to be born and a few seconds earlier to come. And Kachiro came so loudly that Arai had to stifle his mouth against his own chest and then bite his own lips to not scream himself as he released in turn.

Inside his pants.

_Perfect. Grand, just grand._

Breathing back the missing air, and coming back to his senses from the momentary bliss, Arai pushed Kachiro up without a word, other than...

"Shit."

"I... I'm sorry, I-"

"What the hell were you thinking!?" he took a hand to his forehead, theatrically. Kachiro looked down at himself, then at Arai, who pointed out to his lower half and said: "I can't go home like this, now, can I?"

Kachiro seemed to exhale in relief.

Arai pulled his school jacket down as much as it stretched and tried not to look at the boy too much. His heart was still pounding madly. He was very confused. Wet dreams don't usually come true all of a sudden, do they?

He spotted the book-that-started-it-all and passed it to Kachiro.

"Here. That's yours. Keep mine too" and he produced it from his bag. "But you owe me some pants. Let's go check if the _conbini_ has some of those disposable ones."

He didn't miss the boy's wide grin.

********

They entered together and split ways to find them faster. Every convenience store had its own array of shelves, and it seemed that neither of them had stopped at this Lawson other than for cold drinks and some snacks after practice. Maybe a peek at the weekly magazines. And there, in front of the press stand, they found the supplies for the change of underwear they needed. Fortunately, there were both of their sizes available. Also, luckily, they were the only customers.

However, as they were walking back to the cashier, Kachiro suddenly squeaked:

"Oh, no, it's him again!"

"Who? Where?"

"Yamabuki's Akutsu. Outside," he trembled. "With... Kawamura-senpai!"

Arai followed his gaze through the glass wall behind the DVD sales shelf.

"Shit!" he looked frantically around. He would put up a fight, of course, but he still remembered the pain Akutsu could inflict to his ribs and he didn't want to add blood on his clothes on top of the mess he already had in his underwear. Also, he was rather scared about the simple questions Kawamura-senpai could ask them when he saw what they were holding in their hands. They didn't have time to coordinate a convincing lie. "Come here! Quick!"

Grabbing Kachiro's arm, he pulled him behind the sweets section and down to the floor. There, he covered the boy's mouth with his hand and commanded silence with a finger to his lips.

Arai then braved a peek around the middle shelf. Kawamura almost locked eyes with him on his way in, but Arai managed to hide back quickly, and by the time he risked another peek, Kawamura was already busying himself with the magazines.

So, where was Akutsu?

The door of the milk fridge at the end of the next aisle opened with violence, startling them.

"He's there!" whined Kachiro.

"Ssssh," replied Arai, keeping his cool, eyes closed.

"He'll see us!"

"Sssssssh!" Arai refused to open his eyes.

"HE'LL KILL US!!"

"SSSSH! Dammit! Shut UP!" he whisper-shouted back, taking both the boy's hands in his and opening his eyes to explain, like a prayer, that: "Don't be afraid. He won't do anything to us because I... Kawamura-senpai will protect us."

"Yes, Kawamura-senpai will protect us," came Kachiro's teary, frantic echo.

Their foreheads almost touching now, Arai shut his eyes again, reciting:

"He'll save us; he'll prevent us from any harm." He was getting ready for the fight that he saw coming. He could already feel the adrenaline rush, while Kachiro kept sobbing:

"Please, save us. Please, please, Kawamura-senpai!"

No matter the consequences to his ribs and his face, he would not let that asshole harm Kato again. Arai knew deep inside that he could be as cool as Echizen. Perhaps not in tennis, but--

The door of the fridge closed again with a loud thud, stopping Kachiro's whining at once, and retreating steps confirmed that Akutsu was moving on to another section.

They both relaxed and sighed, but remained sitting on the floor, their backs to the shelves, and still linked by one hand. Arai noticed and promptly let go, pretending to readjust his jacket over his still stained clothes. He also noticed that their shoulders were touching, sharing warmth, but that...was fine.

Soon enough, they heard Akutsu arguing with the cashier about something the latter didn't want to sell him... Something he was too young for... Something like...

"Condoms?" they looked at each other and whispered in unison, each covering his own mouth.

Akutsu wanted condoms!? Were Kawamura and he going to some shady place to...? No, they couldn't. As mature as they looked, they were only in Jr. High, they... Maybe they were on a double date? With reaaally dirty girls. Akutsu, maybe. But Kawamura-senpai!?

"Do you think he wants those for... well, for _themselves_?" Kachiro asked softly and meaningfully, bringing Arai down from the dirty clouds to the dirtier earth.

"NO! I mean... How...? Could you believe...?" he stopped. He was in a different sort of panic as before. He was not exactly disgusted at the thought. He was... well, still wet after having dry-humped his girliest kohai. But condoms! That was a big word that implied bigger events.

Arai looked at Kachiro sideways, and something warm and embarrassing installed in the pit of his stomach. The boy looked back at him, and before he could speak, they heard Akutsu taking his shopping bag noisily as he finished his threats to the cashier, with his trademark refusal to take orders. Arai only dared looking when he heard the door to the store open, and managed to see them leave.

He waited a couple of minutes before nudging an absentminded and relaxed Kachiro in the ribs.

"Come on, Kato. Go pay so we can go somewhere to change."

"Why...?"

"Because the toilet here is out of order, so we'll have to find another place."

"No, why do I have to pay?"

"Because it was your fault, that's why!" he snapped, but only half-heartedly, half-guiltily.

Kachiro blushed furiously, paid without another protest and even carried the paper-for-discretion bag himself.

********

The station was thankfully free from students at that hour in the evening. There were just the random cram-school goers who didn't have to stay that late yet, the summer break having ended not long ago. Arai was so happy to be still in carefree second year and so relieved to be wearing clean, albeit disposable, briefs.

Kachiro was still inside the men's restroom. There had been only one cubicle free and senpais go first in Arai's books, so he had pushed his way in before the boy could react. Kachiro hadn't argued. He had been still waiting outside when Arai finished. Oddly enough, the other cubicle hadn't emptied in all the time that took Arai to clean himself up with his sweaty towel and replace his sinful underwear. He had shrugged it off as probable constipation, washed his hands and gone out to where the air didn't stink of stale urine.

Now, technically, Arai could just call it a night and leave already, as the kid could find the way home as easy and quickly as himself. But for some reason Arai was studying the train-lines map above the ticket-vending machines, not exactly sure of what he was looking for, but automatically trying to remember who lived where and what schools were near certain stations.

He was hungry, for starters, and it was a Friday. There was really no hurry to get home and there was no one he really wanted to see that he would not see tomorrow at practice anyway. Maybe he could just take the kid for a snack somewhere, somewhere not very close to where everybody lived, everybody known at least, and make this freaky Friday a bit longer. Just a little bit longer.

The problem was that all he had was 600 yens in his pockets. He could go as far as 300 hundred yen and back, but then he wouldn't have anything left to eat, so he decided on a 200 margin for the train, and started searching for safe stations at a distance within that price.

OK, he had one. The chances of running into someone there were next to zero.

Satisfied, he turned to check on the toilet's entrance. A man was taking a station attendant in that direction but all Arai could hear from his position was "...doesn't open, only grunts suspiciously when you knock". He worried for about half a second, the time it took for Kachiro to come out at the same time the other two went in. The boy looked frantically around, and then to the floor, abated. Arai whistled and Kachiro looked up, beamed, and almost ran to where he was standing. Arai then realized, with some flutter inside, that Kachiro had believed that he had left him behind. So he turned around pretending to check the trains again to hide a grin.

"Are you going somewhere by train now?" came Kachiro's panting voice from his side.

"Maybe. Say, how much cash do you have on you right now?"

Kachiro blinked.

"I don't know... Maybe two hundred in my pocket... and the one thousand bill I keep for an emergency in my sewing kit?"

"A sewing kit!? Do you plan on becoming the team's manager or what?"

"No! It was my mother who..."

"Never mind. That's enough. That's perfect."

"For what?"

"I... I don't know." He scratched the back of his head, feigning improvisation, although he realized he was doing a poor job of it. "Aren't you hungry? Would you like to go for _Mac_ or Lotteria or something cheap and fast and greasy?" _And far_, he added to himself, looking at Kachiro, who looked at his feet before replying:

"I... I'd have to call home, but-"

"Call, then."

"Do we need to take a train?" He looked up.

"Errr... Yes. Actually, there's a place I wanted to try right... here," he pointed to the map above their heads. "In this station. See? I've heard it's a cool area and, besides, you don't want to stay around the school on a Friday night, do you?"

"I don't know. I've never really hanged out beyo-"

"Come on, it's time to expand your horizons, boy!" interrupted Arai, clasping a hand on his shoulder. "Let your senpai be your guide. And you can call home and say that you'll be accompanied. I'll speak to your mother if necessary," he shocked himself by saying. But he immediately felt he could do it, after all.

He just didn't know whether there would be any youth-friendly, fast-food restaurants where they were going.

********

The train rattled through the city as they stood in a car packed with commuters, everybody close to each other but barely touching. Arai noticed that the boy had grown over the summer. He was definitely taller and his face didn't look so ridiculously childish anymore but to Arai he still looked kind of... very... _cute_.

Such thoughts didn't make Arai feel any better, so he distracted himself by looking at the ads hanging from the ceiling, inviting passengers to travel around by JR lines or to attend the latest Takarazuka Theater play. Yet his mind was soon occupied with other things.

Kachiro's mother had sounded very nice on the phone. She seemed happy and thankful that a senpai was taking care of her son and she also passed the phone to the father, the tennis coach, who also thanked him profusely, and who, apparently, had heard a lot about him now that they sometimes played doubles together during practice.

Arai still felt very, very guilty.

They got off at the planned station, which was already unmanned and solitary, and started walking towards the only exit downstairs, where they saw a sign advertising famous establishments nearby. There seemed to be a McDonald's in the basement of a small commercial building two streets from there, at the other side of the station, according to the sketchy map included. All the restaurants and coffee shops seemed to be open until late. Arai asked Kachiro if he was OK with _Mac_, and the boy merely nodded, looking wary of their surroundings.

They went outside and turned to the right to walk through a short, dark passage that ran below the tracks and the station towards an area with more lights and a few stores.

They crossed the road and started walking up the main avenue. Arai noticed how Kachiro was looking around with evident worry in his eyes, as it looked anything but a hang-out spot for people their age.

However, on the second corner on the right, across the street, there was a game center no larger than one floor. That was something! Arai's hands itched to go there but he was hungry and he was also broke.

Actually, he was so hungry that he was thinking up ways to make the most of his few coins, eventually deciding that he had to get himself a satisfying meal no matter what.

All this plotting on an empty stomach didn't leave much room for his brain to make for conversation. On the other hand, Kachiro just kept walking alongside him eyeing silently and fearfully the random groups of older youths they encountered.

Once they arrived at the street that had been marked on the map, they immediately spotted the entrance to the commercial building with a big McDonald's sign leading them downstairs to B1.

And down they went.

********

"Big Mac set with orange juice and chicken nuggets, please."

"For here?"

"Yes," Arai replied to the girl and then turned to Kachiro. "Go on, Kato, you can order now."

"Huh? Ah, Okay. Errrm... Kit-Kat McFlurry, please."

"Very well. Are you paying together?"

"Yes, please," Arai replied, and to Kachiro he said, "You take care of the tray. I'll go around the corner and start looking for an empty table. You don't smoke, do you? No? Great. See you there."

He promptly disappeared from sight, ignoring the shocked "Arai-senpai!!?" that stabbed his back and rang in his ears all the way to one of the multiple available tables.

He'd done it. He had got himself free dinner. He was so hungry he didn't really have a choice. Well, he'd talk the boy into forgetting it this once. He had a senpai reputation to keep so he'd make sure the boy understood it was just that he hadn't planned ahead today and he hadn't thought he'd need money. Heck, he could have told him so on the way but he just didn't want Kachiro to think he was a broke loser.

Anyway, the boy seemed to have some sort of respect and admiration for him, so maybe he'd be only too happy to do him the favor, just this once. Arai would probably offer to pay him only to find the boy smiling at him and saying: "Kohai treat!", and they'd both laugh and eat bubbly-happily. And Arai's stomach wouldn't roar like a lion, nor would his mouth water like the Niagara Falls as he stared shamelessly at the hamburgers that the couple sitting on one corner, and the man in a camouflage cap and sunglasses in another were avidly devouring.

And yet, when Arai saw him coming with the tray in his hands, a fuming red expression and watery eyes, he felt his heart sink and a heavy load place itself in that empty spot in his stomach.

Kachiro left the tray on the table with justified violence, sat on the chair in front of Arai's fixed, cushioned seat, and grabbed his McFlurry with a shaking hand and a sulky expression. He said nothing - just stared at the spoon as he started digging into the ice cream, fighting back tears in such an obvious way that Arai had to look at his own food in search for a happy thought that relieved him of the misery creeping up his whole being.

As he grabbed a handful of fries in one hand, and the hamburger in the other, Arai remembered the first and last time he had dated a girl - not only did he not pay for her meal, but he also helped himself to a good half of her fries. She hadn't been as mad as Kachiro but she had called him stingy and cheeky and heartless and stupid and... she broke up with him at the beginning of the third date. Apparently, he had no idea how dates worked.

And it was true. It was so much easier with his friends because they were also of the opinion that as long as there was food on the table, nobody could really be miserable.

But as much as he wanted to focus on his burger, he couldn't ignore Kachiro's trembling lip. When the boy spoke at last, he did so in such a grave voice that made Arai stop mid-chew.

"You don't even see me as a team mate. To you, I'm still a first year you have to take advantage of, to teach a lesson, aren't I?" He wasn't looking at Arai and he hadn't stopped eating his ice cream.

Arai swallowed, took a sip of his drink, and then looked at him intently.

"I thought tonight we were friends."

"Friends don't do that. You wouldn't do that to Hayashi-senpai."

"Oh yes, I have! And then he came after me and forced me to pay. And Momo has taken advantage of us many, many times." Actually, he'd learnt the trick from him on their first year. "You could have just asked me..."

"I can't, can I?"

"Why not!?"

"Because I know you don't have the money!"

Arai frowned.

"How do you-"

"Because you asked me how much I had on me."

"But that's because I didn't know if you could com-"

"You wanted me to pay for your dinner, that's why you brought me here, didn't you? You never wanted my company in the first place," he was practically sobbing, but he held his ground. He was doing his best not to cry and, considering how much of a waterfall Kachiro could become when scared or upset, Arai had to give him that.

"You got it wrong! I-"

"It's fine. Don't worry. That's just how things are, aren't they? I knew I shouldn't think... I shouldn't hope... Lesson learnt." He closed his eyes and ate another spoonful of ice, bitterness dripping from his every gesture. When Arai saw a lonely tear tracing a path on Kachiro's cheek, he felt so horrible he could throw up.

But he was still hungry so, instead, he finished the hamburger in two bites, ate the fries in a rush, and gulped the juice down. Now he could think of an adequate reply.

And he thought hard for a couple of minutes. The problem was that he didn't really understand why Kachiro was so worked up about it. It had been just a joke; he could pay him back tomorrow. Arai just didn't think it was about the money - that was what puzzled him the most.

_You never wanted my company in the first place._

Yeah, as if he wouldn't have just gone home to have a decent dinner, had it been about the food in the first place. And Momo never paid for Echizen's meals, according to what Ikeda had heard. All of the second year gang but Momo avoided hanging out with kohais, not only because they found the brats uncool, but because they didn't want to pay for them. But apparently Momo, in tandem with Echizen, often managed to trick at least one third year into going out with them and taking care of the bill. Among their senpais, Kikumaru and Kawamura were their favorite victims.

Momo had something that attracted people, didn't he? He was smart and knew how to look good in front of others. Sometimes Arai admired his guts. Most often, Arai was very jealous of him.

He suspected that, were he in Arai's place, Kachiro would be far more cheerful and relaxed.

"Momo would have done the same to you," he blurted out, disgruntled at the thought of Momoshiro and bubbly-happy Kachiro, so realistic in his mind.

But the real Kachiro seemed taken aback with this change of subject and senpai.

"Momo-chan-senpai would've never done something like that... to a _kohai_!" he glared, but turned his eyes down almost immediately.

"He's not your knight in white armour! He just knows how to save face and be the hero to the weak. He's only an expert faker!"

Kachiro's brow twitched.

"Momo-chan-senpai is a _decent_ senpai."

"Heh. Then it must have been hard for you that he chose Echizen. That brat truly takes it all, doesn't he? Although now that he has returned to America, you might have your chance. But only if you make a move before that girl from Fudômine claims him for herself."

Arai observed his reaction carefully but Kachiro merely shrugged.

"So, Kato," he tried again, adding a little cough. "You never told me why you wanted those books," he insisted, and noticed the boy go pale. "Who's your type?"

Kachiro put both hands on his McFlurry cup and said nothing.

"You said it's not a teacher. Then it must be a classmate. That aspar... Mizuno?"

Kachiro seemed to consider the answer for a few seconds, wondering perhaps if he should bother replying at all. But eventually he shook his head slowly, and Arai felt encouraged.

"Not Mizuno. Hmmm. It isn't Echizen, is it? Or _worse_, Horio?"

Kachiro shook his head frantically this time.

"Is it a senpai?"

Kachiro bit his lower lip.

"From the team?"

Kachiro shut his eyes tight.

Arai noticed his own heart was pounding now. How stupid.

It could very well be Momo. The boy had always been part of his fan-club. Or Kawamura. Yes, Kachiro had also a particular affection for their kind and powerful senpai. Arai didn't think Kachiro could feel anything but fear for the Viper; which might be nothing compared to the terror of being alone with Inui-senpai. You never knew what he could put in your drink. And although the boy had been very distraught and sensitive when Tezuka had to retire temporarily from the team, he doubted there was anything beyond deep respect for their cap... former captain and best player, like he himself felt. As an open, fervent fan of the Golden Pair, Kachiro must support that they were with one another, and Fuji-senpai was out of the question because Kachiro evidently liked boys. _Manly_ boys, he assumed. So it had to be one of those two.

All he needed was a name.

"Come on, Kato, I gave you my book. Tell me at least what made you search for them." And lowering the head so that his face was inches from the boy's, he asked in a tone close to a whisper: "Tell Arai-chan-senpai who you think of when you jerk off."

"Do you really want to know?" He tested him.

"Yes." And he hoped his face showed just how much he meant it.

Kachiro's hands trembled on the paper cup as he replied, with unrestrained anger and eyes full of accusation:

"You, senpai. It's _you_!"

And he quickly returned his eyes to his Kit-Kat McFlurry, his face blazing red.

Arai was frozen on the spot, a lopsided smile on his face.

That was not a name. It was a pronoun. Second person singular and it referred to himself.

Of course, he would have thought Kachiro was just pulling his leg in revenge, had he not learnt long ago to take that boy's determined look very seriously.

Now it was Arai who needed a _Kit-Kat_.

He relaxed on his seat and put the hands on his head, sighing loudly. Kachiro threatened with a sob, but kept control of himself.

And, since the Earth didn't open to swallow either of them, after a minute, Arai guessed it was up to him to take the next step. To choose between _fight_ and _flight_. Or just... say something.

Right...

One good look at the boy and...

His brain...

...was not responding.

_Shit_, this was just too much.

Arai stood up with a jump, grabbed Kachiro by the wrist, and pulled him out of his chair, taking both their bags onto one shoulder.

"Come on."

"Wha... Where? Wait! The tray!"

Damned kid and his manners!

Arai put everything back on the tray with his free hand, picked it up, and threw the contents away on their way to the entrance, ignoring the "Thank you very much!" from the girl sweeping the floor next to the garbage. He was still pulling Kachiro behind him. He couldn't say if the boy was talking. Actually, he could barely hear anything at all, because everything inside him was tingling and ringing.

Out in the main hall, he looked quickly around, spotted the sign and followed the directions to a white corridor, then another corridor, then the men's restroom; past an "out of order", broken and sealed stall, into one of the central ones. He locked the door behind them, dropped the bags, lowered the toilet seat, sat down and pulled Kachiro down on his lap. Then he put his arms around the boy, the forehead on his neck and the nose inside the opening of his shirt. And _breathed_.

He was trembling so badly. He couldn't control it.

After a few seconds, he realized the boy wasn't moving, wasn't breathing, and seemed to be in quite a shock. Arai feared he had gone too far. That he had lost it. There was no cover for him anymore, so if it had been just his misunderstanding, he was sooo screwed...

But then he felt the boy exhale and grab his forearms with steady hands, his body trembling too as he moved his hands to hold Arai to himself possessively.

"Kato," Arai whispered at last. "Kato," he said again. "Kato..." he almost smiled.

"Senpai..."

Arai increased the pressure of his embrace. Kachiro responded in turn. They were both breathing hard, and looking for contact desperately, and unable to let go even at the cost of their blood flow.

Arai started massaging the boy's back with his fingers, hard and unsteady. Kachiro's fingers were now in his hair. Then, without a second thought, Arai's hands went to Kachiro's buttocks and placed him _there_, hard. No games and no pretending this time. Kachiro moved his hips forward in a reflex, and Arai tilted his head backwards, unable to stifle a moan.

"Senpai..."

"Don't move..."

"Your hands..."

"Sssh, it's OK. Just don't move... We've just changed our clothes..."

"Iiih..." whined the boy, frustrated, burying his face in Arai's hair. And Arai knew it would happen, sooner or later. There was just only so much self-control left and they both seemed to have little to start with.

"I know!" said Arai at last. "Just lift yourself a bit... There..."

He pulled Kachiro up and his pants down quite eagerly. While the boy was standing precariously to take it all off from waist below, Arai spread his school jacket on the toilet lid, pulled down his own pants and his _conbini_ underwear and sat back. Half a second later Kachiro was back on his lap, flesh on flesh, taking him to a new dimension of brainless madness.

Arai wanted to touch his soft, milky skin everywhere and then some more. He had barely managed to get his hands up the front of the boy's shirt when Kachiro started rocking his hips, obviously unable to stand the naked friction without contributing to alleviating the itch. The boy's raw voice on his ear was mind-numbing.

_This definitely has to be a dream_, he thought, _just a sweet dream_. One of those you _don't want_ to wake up from, but must.

Before that happened, Arai wanted to enjoy this thoroughly, so he put one hand back on Kachiro's bare buttocks and grabbed both their half-hard cocks with the other, rocking them on, whispering his name again and again...

...Until he felt Kachiro come all over his already wet hand. It had taken Arai half as long as the boy this time. He just couldn't help it.

Breathing ragged and in mismatched pants, they held on to each other for a couple of minutes. Arai was in heaven and Kachiro seemed to be far gone from planet Earth as well. He was still holding to Arai as if his life depended on it. Arai realized he was caressing the boy's back with one hand. His other hand was still in place, sticky and gross, so he wiped it a bit on Kachiro's stomach -well, a bit more wouldn't hurt him- then used it to draw Kachiro's hips closer, his body closer, the boy closer. It never felt close enough.

And who the hell would stick a band-aid on the wall? He had just noticed. Were peeping-toms that aggressive on men's toilets in this area? ...Whatever. He shut his eyes and hummed, satisfied. Life was so good right now.

After a long few minutes Kachiro asked lazily, "What time is it?" Arai sighed and replied "Time to get clean and out again". He was starting to lose the feeling of his thighs and it was getting cold. The boy didn't seem too eager to disentangle himself from him. Arai had to push him apart with as much care as he could manage, which wasn't that much, and make him stand on his feet in the confined space between the door and the toilet seat that their bags were not already occupying.

Also, a quick look confirmed this stall had run out of toilet paper. _Double shit_...

_...Oh!_

"Good thing this is a _washlet_" Arai observed, relieved, looking at the control panel on the wall. "I'll wash first and then we can switch positions, okay?"

Kachiro nodded, holding his shirt away from the mess on his tummy. Arai pressed the button for the water to come out and rinse his intimate parts, taking in the enticing view in front of him for a long moment before deciding against licking him clean. He wasn't quite ready yet.

He was tempted, though, and that made him a bit nervous. He really, truly wanted more of this, but he feared it was going to be oh so complicated...

...Like using the jet of water coming from the back of the toilet seat to get his hands wet enough to rub his groin. That required acrobatic skills and those were Kikumaru-senpai's specialty, not Arai's. Nevertheless, he stood up just enough to keep his balance, made the water rebound in one hand, and wiped all the accessible areas of skin with the other. In the process, he bumped his head a bit on Kachiro's chest, and the boy took the opportunity that his mane was falling down to his shoulders, to bring his hands to Arai's head and brush his mouth against the back of his Arai's neck. Arai moaned, startling them both.

Kachiro rubbed his lips some more, tentatively. Arai choked a gasp and placed a hand on the door, for better balance, avoiding any further contact with the boy.

"_Senpai_... Arai-senpai..." the boy was... crying?

He waited for a sob. But...

No, it was just Kachiro's underdeveloped, whiny voice.

Arai smiled.

"If you stop strangling me, I'll clean you up too. I just wish I had some toilet paper to dry... OUCH!" he protested, as a roll dropped from... heaven, apparently, onto his head. "Wow... Thanks! But you didn't need to hit m-"

"I didn't do it!" Kachiro said quickly, with a scared hint in his voice. Arai was annoyed that the kid had probably just ducked in time. But then who had...? He eyed the band-aid on the wall suspiciously. But that wall connected with the restroom, not with...

"Let's finish already and get the hell out of here," he whispered.

He didn't want to stay long enough to learn if someone was using the next stall.

Because, if there was really somebody inside, he didn't want to imagine how much they _must_ have heard.

********

Ducking some yellow signs on the way out to the corridors, and making a beeline to the stairs that lead to the entrance, upstairs, they left the building faking innocence with rosy cheeks and conspicuous expressions that, to Arai, told everyone what they had just been up to. Kachiro was looking at the floor, flustered and smiling tensely. Arai was looking everywhere, making sure they were not followed, they were not stared at, they were not pointed at, and they were on their way down the street faster than you can say "hakugei".

They kept on walking in silence towards the station but more closely together than before as Kachiro made more of an effort to catch up with Arai's longer strides. Arai realized he shouldn't have touched the boy as he did back inside and he shouldn't have helped him clean up. Because now that didn't feel like enough and there wouldn't probably be another chance to have a tiny, dim, stinky piece of the world for themselves alone without raising suspicions. And this would be bad, bad news if their team-mates ever discovered about it. Arai wouldn't live that down until graduation, he was sure of it, and there was one year and a half more at school with Kachiro.

Yet, this night didn't feel long enough.

"How about a game?" Arai blurted out. They were waiting for the traffic light to change right in front of the game center on the corner. Kachiro looked at his watch. Arai didn't look at him as he insisted: "Come on, it will be just one, two top. There's still time."

"But not money..."

Arai coughed and threw him a guilty look.

"I'm sorry, OK? I'll give it back to you tomorrow." And he'd have to find the way to repay him discreetly. Still, now that he thought about it, Kachiro couldn't have much left either, and they had yet to take the train home. "Aaah, never mind. I forgot I've made you broke too."

"I had two thousand."

"What?"

"I had two bills in the sewing kit. I just didn't remember." Kachiro grinned sheepishly. "So, how about _I_ treat you to a game, _senpai_?"

Arai's mortification was only exceeded by his glee.

********

They played bongos, car racing, Street Fighter and some shoot-em-up in pairs where they were both slaughtered on the very first screen. Dejected and frustrated, having Kachiro refused to take the blame for not covering his virtual back properly, Arai was about to leave the arcade room when Kachiro pulled his sleeve, blushed and, pointing out to the stairs leading to the basement, he said:

"Senpai, why... why don't we do some... um... some _purikura_ together?" he raised his eyes to Arai's. "To...remember."

Arai froze. Pictoral evidence? Aside from Inui-senpai's data get-o? The kid wanted to keep pictorial evidence of their outing? Was he insane? And, more important: was he himself willing to miss the chance to keep a personalized, photographic memento of the boy?

"S-Sure. Why not?" he scratched the back of his head, and led the way downstairs.

They picked up a black booth -the least girly of the lot- and got ready for the picture. Kachiro adjusted his clothes. Arai rearranged his hair and made faces in front of the screen. Kachiro handed him the coins and Arai put them in.

"Ready?" he looked at the other boy.

"Senpai, it's already started! The background, we have to choose the settings!"

"But first: gloss or no gloss? That is the question."

And so the frenzy began: choosing almost blindly, because there was not much time and both proved to be a bit green at _purikura_; smiling kind of forcefully; and then, failing to have a pose ready in time, getting hit on the head by a falling screen portraying a sunset. Those faces were priceless, though, Arai had to admit. Next one had them already managing the V sign; in the following one, Arai had an arm around Kachiro's shoulders and they were both grinning with a wink; then they moved at the same time to suggest to each other the next pose and their faces met closer than they had thought; and right before the camera shot, Kachiro pulled their lips together for a split second. So the last one had them blushing and looking in opposite directions, Arai at the ceiling, Kachiro at the floor.

The machine announced they were done, so "please proceed to the panel outside the booth" to decorate their pictures.

Arai took their bags from the floor, stepped outside and beckoned Kachiro to hurry up, as these machines waited for nobody. He both feared and was kind of excited for what would turn up. Touch screen pens in hand, time already running out, they took a deep breath and set to work.

They would choose four. And work on them separately. Now, the four...

Both of them blushed all the way to their toes. They couldn't choose _that one_. Yet they could not leave it out either. So it was that and the wink and the V pose and, no, not the lame one after the double hit, but the first, where they both looked as if they were posing for their passport picture. Neutral.

They worked on decorating, stamping and writing nonsense on the V pose and the wink pictures at leisure, but Kachiro was soon out of ideas, and Arai feared moving on to the next one, in case he got the embarrassing moment, which he eventually did.

There was one minute and a half left and the picture was shining back at him, showing him the way. For the third time that day he had an urge, a very strong urge to do something, but this time there was no way, no fucking way he was going to. No. Just... no.

To hell with the pounding heart in his throat and that tingling feeling in his stomach, bubbling up towards an impulse, that irrational impulse that... his mind was no longer trying to suppress, but to aid.

They were protected by curtains, after all. And Kachiro hadn't stopped looking at him sideways since they had picked up the pens.

Arai breathed hard, getting ready, and felt the world shut out once more.

He lowered his head, pretending to look closer at the screen. But he changed route in the last moment; approached the boy's face slowly; and kissed him with all premeditation and very tightly closed lips.

Kachiro tensed, relaxed, melted. And eventually he turned to Arai, put his hands on Arai's face and made him open his lips with bold insistence. Arai grabbed him by the shoulders and took good care of reciprocating such enthusiasm.

Lost as they were in a duet of stifled moans between kisses, they lost track of the few seconds left and almost forgot what they were supposed to be doing. Until they were reminded loudly that it was time to choose the printing size. _What would the world do without talking machines?_, Arai thought.

"Big ones, the big ones!" Arai exclaimed, pointing at the screen, one flushed cheek still glued to Kachiro's.

"Wha... aat!?" replied the boy, his eyes glossy and his wits in Jamaica.

"Gimme the pen." He took it himself. He didn't want any tiny-sized photograph. They were easy to stick in everyday places, and easier to lose in the wrong places. Also, the less evidence, the better. "Here. Done. Now let's go pick them up before someone else does..."

After wiping their wet lips with the sleeve of their school jackets, and adjusting their hair a bit, they went out to the side of the machine where the pictures came out. They didn't look at each other while they waited, so their hands collided once more today as they reached for the prints. Arai let Kachiro take them and then touched his back gently but firmly to guide him to the cutting table.

In the end, each one had the four different pictures in medium size, plus a bonus of six small-sized ones. Those, they would dispose of directly on the garbage bin after cutting the rest out with the scissors. Kachiro was reluctant to part with them, but Arai insisted on the dangers they entailed, the whole lot. Arai looked at them long and frowned at Kachiro.

"I have your word that you won't stick _any_ of them anywhere..."

"...On my school agenda or my wallet or any place where someone like Horio could see. I promise!"

Arai relaxed and kept on cutting. He noticed Kachiro's head resting slightly on his forearm as he watched, and pushed him away on reflex. He came back almost as fast, grinning.

"Arai-senpai, can't you cut in a straight line?"

Arai grumbled a reply and pushed him away again. Then his brain processed the question and his face burned as he continued working with that ridiculous preschool tool. Stupid kid. Look what he made him do. _Purikura_! Sparkly and ridiculous and so very gay. And yet he was so going to keep them on the bedside table. Maybe inside the kleenex-dispenser. No! –he thought better. There his mother could see when she replaced the package. Alright, he could always use another box and leave the dispenser always full. But what if-?

"Senpai, it's late. We should really get back to the station now."

It was not late. It was soon, still too soon. But Arai finished quickly and wrapped his pictures with a torn page from a notebook and put it inside his tennis bag, behind his racket, where he knew he'd had to look tonight when he put out the dirty clothes from training and the very, very dirty towel. It was a good thing that his mother was adamant that he put all his clothes inside the washing machine himself. He took the scissors one last time to cut the small pictures into several pieces that fell over the discarded white frames, grabbed it all in one hand, made a tiny ball, and on the way out he threw it away where it belonged.

Back on the street, they walked in silence, keeping a calculated distance. Arai was checking left and right whether someone had spotted them and knew what they had just been doing, again, but he soon realized that the few people around were minding their own businesses. Nevertheless, Arai felt uneasy. He couldn't brush off the idea that he was being watched, judged, condemned, and he could not say whether it was just his own guilty conscience.

"Where did you put your pictures?" he spoke to Kachiro at last.

"Inside the anthology you gave me," the boy replied with his sweetest smile.

"Why, couldn't you be any more obvious?" he snorted in disbelief.

"Obvious about what?"

"Do you want to give your mother any more hints if she finds the book?"

"It's just for the time being!"

"For the time being! Hah! Homo literature and _purikura_... You look like the kind of princess guy to keep it inside your not-so-secret drawer, or hidden by your underwear, together with your dream diary and the buttons of your senpais."

"Can I have your button when you move on to High School, _senpai_?" Kachiro smiled excitedly.

"Don't change the subject! You can't keep the pictures there! And you shouldn't keep the books either."

"Why not!?"

"What if you mother finds them? What is she going to think about...? Well, about you and..." _About me_, he thought. Nice senpai Arai: _the end_.

Kachiro seemed to ponder this.

"So...will you want to meet me outside school after today or will you avoid me starting tomorrow?" he finally asked. His eyes were fixed on the pavement and his smile was sad.

"WHAT!?"

"I thought... You seem so worried about your reputation..."

Arai went cold inside. _I am_, he thought. What if tomorrow he woke up and thought it had all been a mistake? Starting from the earlier wet dreams he could barely control. Hell, he had been out of control all evening and there was still no Earth swallowing him up and no remorse eating away at him and no damned wish to go home at all. But he had to take Kachiro home, as there was some responsibility as a senpai, even if his mushroom was a boy.

"You know what? We are going to throw those books away, too."

Kachiro clutched his bag closer, protectively.

"You can't be serious!"

"I am. Come on, you don't need them anymore."

"How... how do you know?"

"Because we... you... we don't need them! We have the real thing now!" he stopped, making the titanic effort to look at Kachiro directly in the eyes. "Do... Don't you prefer the real thing?"

Kachiro's initial shock gave way to a beaming face.

"You mean that?"

Arai looked away and coughed.

"I mean that I won't shun you or pretend you disgust me. I mean, as long as you keep yourself at check in school and watch out when others are... Hey! Are you listening to me? Where are you going?" He shouted as Kachiro sprinted down the street towards what looked like a garbage box against a wall.

Arai ran after him and then held the bag for him to rummage through its contents in search of the offending books. Kachiro took out the _purikura_ pictures and put them inside the paper bag from Lawson, between two books. As he zipped the bag closed Arai clapped his shoulder.

"Good boy. Who needs some dirty manual, huh?"

Kachiro gave a last, long look at the BOOK-OFF bounty, laying discarded on top of used newspapers, and sighed.

Then he smiled at Arai sideways and whispered: "I really want the real thing", before setting off for the crosswalk at the end of the main avenue.

Arai stopped breathing for a moment as all his blood left the more rational parts of his brain for dead.

Eventually, he followed him across the street.

The area around this alien station was still quite empty and a bit darker now, which suited Arai just fine. They were walking side by side and Arai carried both their bags on his shoulder once more. He had insisted. His heart was pounding miserably at the same pace his watch was ticking closer to goodnight, and he was only half aware of his hand moving to brush the other boy's intermittently. And although Kachiro seemed to be lost in his thoughts, he felt his hand responding. By the time they reached the underpass beneath the station, their fingers were intertwined.

Protected by the dimness inside, Arai felt bold enough to wrap an arm around the other boy's shoulders and squeeze him close against his body, so close that Kachiro embraced him with his free arm, raised his face and breathed hard and unsteady against his neck all the way to the light.

Later, they sat next to each other in the partially empty train, and Arai let Kachiro rest his sleepy head on his shoulder. If the salary men in front of him could shamelessly do it, so could his Kato.

********

They made some small talk about arcade games and tennis matches on the way to Kachiro's house -about how they now didn't really want to face each other in the next ranking tournament, in which Kachiro would finally take part, now that the third years had retired. Arai hoped both of them would make the regulars soon and have the chance to play doubles together in a real game. He didn't have the same coordination with Hayashi because Hayashi didn't let him lead the way Kachiro did. And deep inside he wanted to lead and to be trusted, like Inui-senpai was.

He wondered if Inui-senpai ever walked that Mamushi home. Openly, in a way in which Kaidoh knew he was _there_, that is. And at a non-running speed, too. Arai was beginning to suspect they didn't just put training menus into practice when they were together. He could not forget the look on Kaidoh's face when he passed Inui the towel after he defeated his childhood partner now in Rikkai. That time, the viper's doe eyes had shown some emotion far beyond senpai veneration. Arai couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly. But there had been pride. And something else he had also seen in Kachiro's eyes tonight when he'd asked him "You mean it?".

Here he was, at the entrance of his kohai's house, already regretting that he had to cut it out before the parents came out to greet him and made it all more awkward than it was already.

Kachiro's eyes were moving from the floor, to Arai, to the sky. Since the boy had proved to have good judgement, he probably knew as well as Arai that there was nothing they could do out here, and Arai hoped he would keep it in mind. But there was something he felt the urge to say, and it was now or never.

Arai coughed, and then lowered his head to whisper in Kachiro's ear:

"You know? I think of you too. I mean... sometimes!"

Kachiro gasped.

Then Arai pushed Kachiro's forehead backwards, messed up his hair, and pinched his nose.

"See you at practice tomorrow. Don't be late."

He walked away at a brisk pace, wishing his farewell words had been less pathetic.

He was already mourning the end of what he'd wished had been a never-ending evening, but also looking forward to practice tomorrow.

He also kept his ears alert for a closing door behind him, just to be sure, and his eyes sharp for a spiky-haired shadow on the left-side wall.

Perhaps it had been... just his imagination.

********

...Or, perhaps, not.

Saturday morning at the club, five minutes before practice was over, Arai was approached from behind the fence.

"Arai?"

"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih!!"

The fact that he could recognize that voice anywhere without looking at its owner didn't make it less soul-chilling.

"Inui-senpai! W-What are you doing here today?"

"How is it going between you and _Kato_?"

"Huh? I...don't think I know what you are talking about." He raised an eyebrow, not quite looking over his shoulder, but still seeing Inui's open notebook and his cheerful smirk.

"38 times."

"Huh?"

"Thir-ty-eight times you said Kato's name aloud."

Arai felt his face boil. He had not! He could not! He had done his best not to look at the boy, barely spoke to him except to ask for more balls, and even that one time he had approached him he'd made sure there was nobody else left around. Then how...?

He felt goosebumps and a chill up and down his spine when his mind put two and two together at once.

"I-Inui-senpai, what do you know about... toilet paper?" he asked in a mild panic, turning around.

"Why, that you should check whether your stall has some before locking yourself inside." Inui smiled gently from the other side of the fence, and Arai turned his gaze down half in disbelief and half in confirmation. "And, Arai? You should always find a spot that nobody will come in after you, or secure that it will be just so. I, however, was lucky to find some 'Now cleaning. Use another toilet' signs in the storage room and put them in front of the men's door." Arai's jaw dropped. "Now, back to your voice, you should really keep it down in public places, Arai. You are too loud. That's point one in my list of your questionable behaviour of yesterday. Let's worry more about anonymity, shall we? _Kachiro-kun_ deserves as much. I have enough data to affirm that he really likes you. And data never lies." His glasses glinted and his smile gave Arai the creeps. And when he showed him the open page on his notebook, with the title "Arai's data" and last evening's date, Arai thought he could faint right there, right then.

Glued back together in the middle of fast and furious scribbled notes on sequential events were the tiny _purikura_ photographs that they had discarded. Those he had taken great pains to destroy.

"Nice data," Inui boasted, widening his grin.

Arai barely managed not to squeal in horror as he made hysterical signs for Inui to shut the notebook, looking apprehensively in all directions.

But, fortunately, nobody was around because Ryûzaki-sensei had called for the end of practice and people were already retreating outside. Nonetheless, if there hadn't been a fence and one year of difference between them, Arai would have ripped those pages to shreds and force-fed them to this incorrigible, reoffending stalker.

As things were, Arai excused himself without another look at his devious senpai and practically ran to the clubroom.

He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, so he made up a family lunch he must attend no matter what and fled before any of his friends had even changed into their school uniforms.

********

"Point two: senpai extortion," came again the same voice from behind the shoe boxes. As there was nobody else around, Arai's heart did a somersault inside his chest. "Arai, you should never force someone to pay if you expect to bond with them at any level. It is not just a matter of senpai duty and it goes beyond romanticism. You must find a way to repay Kato if you expect to gain his trust. This will also have an effect on your doubles game."

"Yes..." acknowledged Arai, looking at the floor to hide his embarrassment. He finished lacing his shoes and went out with a curt nod of his head and a fast turn.

********

"And third, Arai: recycling material." Inui met him around the corner, outside the school grounds, as he was heading towards the main street. Arai hastened his pace, but Inui matched it easily. "You should know that although paper gets recycled in its respective bin, and Kato was careful about it, these books..." he produced them from his bag and a lobster-red Arai pushed them back in a nanosecond, spinning his head around once more, "...ought to be taken back to the second-hand store for the next reader to enjoy, even if you don't get any money back. It so happens that I am on my way to BOOK-OFF to return something that didn't have the reception I... um... expected," he explained, rubbing the side of his head distractedly. "So if you come with me I'll help you return them," he paused to zip his bag shut. "And, on the way, I'll read you the rest of the list of mistakes that you could easily avoid on your next date, whenever you muster the courage to... Huh? Arai?"

From his hiding spot behind a _Yamazaki bread_ delivery truck, Arai watched him look around and then keep on walking alone.

"I try to help him and he disappears on me. It makes no sense," he muttered to himself. "I wonder if he realizes that there won't be much I can do for them once I graduate. Well, I guess I'll have to return them myself. Pity. I had another recommended reading that could..."

But Arai didn't loiter to listen anymore because he had to be somewhere, and he didn't want to be late, or to have Inui on his tail _again_.

Arai had known that he would not let it be the previous evening. But to think that he would follow them; that he would be _there_; in every single place and in the next stall...

_Shit, shit, shit!_

Of course his data never lied! Data never lies because data-gathering men never rest.

Severe mortification aside, at least he counted on Inui to keep their data private.

_...Shit._

Arai checked his watch: 12:15. He went into the Lawson and bought an assortment of _karaage_ fried chicken, a couple of _onigiri_ and some beverages. Then he headed for the nearby park.

********

Kachiro was sitting on one of the swings, waiting for him. The boy waved when he saw him, and Arai raised two fingers in acknowledgment.

"I... I brought some lunch. I thought I'd make up for yesterday," he explained, sitting on the other swing, and passing Kachiro the bag. The boy took it uncertainly and peered inside.

"_Karaagekun_! What flavors?"

"Cheese and spicy and that new one, _yuzu_."

"And there is _onigiri_ too!" He beamed, and then winked to Arai. "Good thing I already told my mother I wouldn't be there for lunch."

"Right!" said Arai, pulling out his cell phone and texting his preventively.

"Can I have the green tea?"

"Sure. Take whatever you want. I wasn't sure what you liked."

"This is perfect. I'll take the _umeboshi onigiri_ and we can share all the _karaage_ packs."

"That sounds good... OK. Sent. Pass me the Aquarius."

"Here." He offered. "I saw you talking to Inui-senpai. I found it odd that he came to school on a Saturday now that the senpais are not part of the club anymore. Is anything the matter?"

_He just followed us all day yesterday, picked up our secret pictures and our gay comics and has filed a complete report on us in one of his notebooks, together with a fix-your-date manual for me._

"Nothing. He seems to keep wanting to give me advice on _senpai_-ing, but I told him I have everything under control," he replied, with a proud expression.

"Good. Some _yuzu_ chicken?" Kachiro offered.

"Sure." Feet firmly on the ground, Arai drew his swing closer, and Kachiro put the round piece directly inside his mouth. Arai noticed how the boy couldn't help staring intently at his lips. "As I was saying," he continued after gulping it down. "I want to apologize for my inexcusable behaviour of yesterday. I am really sorry."

"B-But I kissed you first!" Kachiro blushed, and then looked at his feet.

Arai blinked, confused.

"I mean, at McDonald's."

"But I liked it too!" Kachiro pouted, and let the bag fall to the ground.

Arai facepalmed, partly to hide his huge grin. His heart started jumping like a kangaroo on acid, but his shame put it back into place.

"I mean... at the counter. When I...left you to pay."

"Oh! Oh, that!" he smiled, looking back at Arai again.

Had the boy really forgotten!? Perhaps he shouldn't have reminded him!

"Yes. Sorry. Honest. I'm really sorry. I won't do that again...to you. And I'll take more money with me next time. And I... I'll even perform a senpai treat! ...Occasionally."

"Next time..." Kachiro's smile widened as he stretched one arm to pick up the bag.

"Yes, next time, OK?" Emboldened and displaying what he believed to be his coolest face, he announced: "Today is just the aperitif."

"Cheese?"

"Yes?"

This time it was Kachiro who moved, sitting astride on the swing as if he were riding a carousel horse. He walked clumsily towards him, holding the Lawson's bag on his lap and a piece of chicken in his hand.

"Say aaaah!"

Reluctantly, Arai looked right and left: nobody either way; opened his mouth, closed his eyes...

...And got kissed fully on the lips.

The pressure lasted only a few seconds, but when the boy pulled apart, it was Arai who grabbed both sides of his head and deepened the kiss, once, twice... without forgetting to grab the chicken from his hand and sharing a bite with Kachiro in between kisses. Kachiro tried to laugh and sputtered bits of chicken on his way back to the swing's original position.

Then Kachiro opened his _onigiri_ and they both shared bites, swinging to the sides in turns, and licked rice out of each other's mouths, in wordless fits of laughter that felt very girly to Arai, but he was just feeling so silly he could not help himself. He was also getting very hot and bothered and was considering having the other boy sit on his lap, _to make lunch easier, you know?_ All this shaking and stopping abruptly couldn't be good for the stomach. But this was a public park, barely past midday, and he was positive he would not be able to restrain himself. Again.

All he needed was an excuse to touch him...

Ah, he got it!

Arai stood up and approached the boy from behind.

"Senpai, what...?"

There he removed the green hair band from his head and put it on Kachiro's, getting it all the way down his neck and back on his mushroom-shaped hair, smoothing first the bangs of the fringe backwards with his palms, veeeery slowly and veeery thoroughly.

"There." He walked to the front and looked at him. The boy looked so cute, _dammit_. He really had a handsome face, with those big, expressive eyes and the long lashes. Arai had always been fascinated by the innocence he radiated, such a stark contrast with the character he was capable of showing when provoked. It used to irk him before, though. But now, as long as the boy looked at him in wonder like that...

"I must look like that first year from Yamabuki, don't I?" he said timidly, averting his eyes when Arai got closer to help himself to more chicken from the plastic bag still on his lap. Arai suspected he was making him nervous from his towering position, so he sat back on his swing.

"Nah, you look less silly than him," he replied at length, before putting a piece of _karaage_ in his mouth.

"At least he didn't seem to fear that monster Akutsu," Kachiro defended the other boy. Then he imitated Arai and took a piece from one of the boxes at random, munching with visible contentment.

"And you don't fear me, do you?"

"That's not..." he laughed, pushing the hair band down to his neck. "...The same. That monster is unpredictable. But I gave it a lot of thought last night, and I still believe that the..." he lowered his voice " ...Condoms were for them."

"Which condoms? For whom?"

"For Akutsu and... Kawamura-senpai! Look, over the hedge!" he waved to someone.

Arai turned slowly and saw with alarm that it was indeed their _burrrning_ senpai, so he stood up and bowed as graciously as he could, feeling stiff and a bit awkward, and already fearing the consequences of having been caught red-handed again with a kohai in an intimate... lunch. What if he approached them!? What would they say they were doing together!? What if he told someone!? Kawamura-senpai was friends with Fuji-senpai, who might have less reserved and more dangerous ways to use data than Inui-senpai...

But Kawamura only waved back, without stopping, and promptly disappeared behind some trees. The next minute Arai saw him walking down the street.

Arai relaxed and sat back again, swinging distractedly from right to left.

"I wonder if he'll tell the others," Kachiro commented after a gulp of tea, looking at him apprehensively.

"What's wrong with some senpai-kohai bonding time?" Arai asked with a smile, his previous train of thought completely derailed after just a look at his boy. It seemed to happen every time.

He was ready to face the questions, he felt. He could always learn a trick or two of Momo's cheekiness.

"...Can I keep the hair band?"

No need to provoke them unnecessarily, though.

"Just as long as you don't take it to school."

Arai decided that it was time for a ponytail. He was also ready for a change of looks...at least until tomorrow. Speaking of which, he was meeting Ikeda and Hayashi at the Seishun department store in the morning, but...

"Say, Kato. Are you free tomorrow afternoon? How about we ask that machine for revenge?"

Kachiro looked back at him.

"I say _you_ pay, _senpai_."

"Deal."

Arai breathed deeply, looked above and felt the last clouds in his soul starting to evaporate. He had ten thousand and one things to worry about, but they could all wait. The sky was amazingly clear today and so was his mind.

He felt happy.

*** FIN ***

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**Any**** thoughts, comments or opinions will be highly appreciated. Thanks for reading!  
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